My Valentine Swap Project - Bee Mine Bookmark

Yesterday I featured the wonderful Valentine projects I received from my altered art group.  Here's what I made to swap - Bee Mine Bookmarks.  They are shaped like a little house and slide onto the corner of a book.  I have three pictured here so you can see what they look like on the book corner, from the front when not attached and from the back.  They're a lot of fun to make and very simple.

To make these, you start with a 3"x3" square.  Make a mark  midway on each side (1.5" from the top and bottom).  Use a straight edge and bone folder to score between the marks.  Fold the corners in to form a peak.  
Next, decide what type of decorative triangle you want to attach to the front of the bookmark.  Some good choices are a nicely textured paper (like the blue one below), patterned paper, or plain paper on which you stamp.  For the Valentine bookmark, I used applied alcohol inks onto glossy paper to create a faux marble look.  The instructions for that can be found on Tim Holtz's blog here.  The triangle is 2"x2"x3".  One you have it cut out, simply adhere it on top of the folded corners.
That's it.  Let me know if you make any.

It's all about the Light . . . and a Winner

I received so many great suggestions for how to take better still-life pictures. The most important think I learned is that "it's all about the light." Turning off the flash and shooting in natural light (either outside or inside) seems to be the easiest fix. If you want to turn it up a notch, a light tent or light box is a great idea. You can buy a 2'x2' Cubelite from Lastolite for about $135 or you can make your own! I've always been a bit intimidated by trying to manipulate light - I think because I am most comfortable with sports photography and travel photography, where I work with the available light. I remember once when I was shooting soccer portraits on a cloudy coastal day, and my friend Erik said the light was perfect because it was just like shooting inside a giant light box. Now I finally know what he meant! As an aside, I came across this blog post where someone was experimenting with manipulating light outside.

The dominant suggestion for lens setting was to get close and use the macro setting on the camera (the little flower). I had been using the portrait setting, so I learned something there! Someone else suggested using a fixed 50 mm lens. Since I have one of those (I use it to shoot at indoor, low light basketball games), I'll definitely give that a try, too.

As for composition, many suggested the need to shoot straight on, rather than at an angle . . . unless you're photographing a woman and want to hide any extra chins, then shoot from above. Suggested backgrounds for jewelery included using nature (hanging from a tree branch, wood, rock, uncooked rice, uncooked beans, etc.), a framed screen, or a solid color paper or fabric that won't reflect light (velvet, velveteen, flocked paper, etc.) Other interesting ways to "set the scene" for a book thong were discovered by searching in flickr.com for book thong.

Wow! I learned so much. Thanks for all your great ideas. I took the photos for today's post outside, in the morning, with my flash turned off and the camera set to macro. I hope to build a light box someday (or get one for Christmas), and I'll definitely experiment with my 50 mm prime lens as well.

The winner of a book thong is . . . Kathy M! Email me with your address (or I'll find you), and I'll get your prize in the mail. Thanks to everyone for participating.

Weekend Giveaway - Photography Tips

I consider myself a pretty good photographer. In fact, when it comes to sports photography and travel photography, I consider myself a very good photographer. But . . . I have trouble with still lifes. Which means I have trouble photographing my art. Case in point: these book thongs. Yes, you read that right - they're called book thongs. They're basically beads and charms tied onto either end of waxed linen thread that you place between pages of a book. Think about it a little while, and you'll figure out why they're called that. Very fun to make and highly giftable. But I digress . . .

I had trouble figuring out how to photograph them so they looked good. Layout, lighting, camera settings all gave me fits this morning. So, for this weekend's giveaway, leave a comment with your best photography tip. It can be for photographing a still life or for anything else. Entries close Sunday at 9:00 pm California time. I'll draw a random name from those who comment and send them a prize. I bet you can figure out what it will be. Here's a hint - it will be for your bookshelf, not for your underwear drawer.